Innovation & Linkage Schools

Seattle public schools that meet our criteria for at-risk populations are eligible to apply to become Innovation schools. All Seattle public middle or K-8 schools are eligible to apply to become Linkage Schools.

Innovation Schools: Serve large numbers of at-risk students and receive larger investments than Linkage schools (between $310,000 and $560,000 in the 2014-15 school year). Innovation schools are expected to deploy strategies in all of the major academic, case management, and college and career readiness investment areas. (College and career readiness requirements do not apply to elementary schools.)

Linkage Schools: Middle schools with smaller concentrations of at-risk students receive smaller investments (between $50,000 and $240,000 per school in the 2014-15 school year) and are expected to focus on fewer strategies (e.g., reducing the percentage of 6th and 7th graders not on standard in math).

How We Select Schools

We target Seattle public schools with large numbers of students at high risk for school failure (see list of eligible schools)

Schools compete for available funds by submitting a Request for Investment proposal that outlines their needs, explains how they propose to use Levy funds, and demonstrates their ability to track students' progress as a result of Levy investments

Selected schools receive Levy support to become Innovation schools and implement a combination of strategies to increase students' academic achievement

All public middle schools are eligible to become Linkage schools, which serve smaller concentrations of at-risk students and focus Levy investments on just one or two areas

Individualized goals are set for each school; schools must make acceptable progress towards those goals in order to continue to receive funding

We analyze student data on an ongoing basis in order to refine practices and make timely improvements

Strategies for Helping Youth Succeed in School

We help youth do better in school by:

Providing extra support for children as they move from prekindergarten or kindergarten into higher grades, and for the transition from 8th to 9th grade

Increasing teachers' instructional time with students

Improving teachers' skills through training

Providing students with tutoring from teachers

Modernizing classroom teaching tools

Providing after school and summer learning programs

Making social and emotional support available to struggling youth and their families

Community Partners

Levy-funded schools are encouraged to partner with community-based organizations that are approved by us through the RFQ process to work with struggling students. Find out more about our Community-Based Organization partners

Measures of Success

Continued Levy funding depends on schools meeting specific goals from among these measures: